Isaac Delgado
One of timba's great soneros — Isaac Delgado's voice combines the rhythmic precision of classic son with the improvisational aggression of timba, making him one of the most respected vocalists in the genre.
About
Delgado grew up in Havana and developed his vocal style in the tradition of the son sonero — the improvising lead vocalist who drives the coro/montuno section. After working with several groups, he formed his own band in the early 1990s and became a central figure in timba's development alongside NG La Banda and Los Van Van.
His recordings from the 1990s and 2000s — including Con ganas, La fórmula, No me pongas en ese plan — are considered classics of the timba era. His voice has a natural warmth and rhythmic authority that makes him equally convincing in romantic ballads and hard-driving montunos. He has worked extensively outside Cuba as well, recording and performing across Latin America and Europe.
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
Lees meer >Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.
Lees meer >Songo is the direct bridge between traditional Cuban music and timba. Developed by Los Van Van in the early 1970s, it rewired Cuban popular music by absorbing funk, rock, and jazz into the Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation — and laid every groundwork that timba would build on.
Lees meer >Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the birthplace of some of the world's most influential music and dance traditions. African, Spanish, and French cultural streams collided here over centuries of colonial history, producing an extraordinary creative culture that exported itself across the globe.
Lees meer >The Casa de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba is the spiritual home of Cuban traditional music — Son, Bolero, Changüí, and Trova. Founded in 1968 on Calle Heredia in the heart of Santiago's historic center, it has been the gathering place for the city's musicians for over half a century.
Lees meer >European cultural influence on Cuba came primarily through Spain (as colonial power) and France (through the Haitian migration and Caribbean trade). These influences shaped Cuban music's harmonic language, instrumentation, and dance forms.
Lees meer > EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales) is Cuba's state recording company, founded in 1964 after the Revolution nationalized all private recording labels. Its main facility, Estudios Areíto in Havana, is where virtually every important Cuban recording from the Revolution era was made.
Lees meer >A Cuban popular dance music genre that emerged in the 1980s–90s
- emerged in the 1980s–90s
- influenced by songo, rumba, funk, blues, jazz, pop, rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
- Known for complex rhythm shifts, aggressive bass lines, and high energy that push dancers to improvise.
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- Coro = the Choir, sings a repeating phrase.
- Pregón = the lead singer sings varying or improvised lines
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